The former Baywatch star was one of several big names, including Louise Redknapp, former X-Files actress Gillian Anderson and jumpsuit wearing Sadie Frost to attend the event.

The actress handed out awards to celebrities who had fought against animal cruelty for the campaigning group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).

Wearing a flowing white dress, she said: "My message would be to please start using fake fur. It's terrible because people see stars like J-Lo and Beyonce wearing fur and they don't think about the cruelty that goes into it."

She added: "I'm here to hopefully raise a lot of money and if we raise enough I'll strip naked in the shop window."

Frost, whose jumpsuit was slashed down the middle, said: "I've always been an animal lover. People should be made aware of all the issues. Some people think that the whole wearing fur thing is glamorous but you can look good without it. Hopefully people will stop wearing it."

Redknapp added: "It's something I feel very strongly about. If you can put a fur jacket on you should be able to watch the animal being slaughtered so I'm really behind Peta's work."

Chrissie Hynde, who received an award for putting pressure on fast food and clothing companies over the issue, said: "I don't think it matters how you get attention for this and I don't think you can ever be too extreme."

Other names attending tonight's event included Siouxsie Sioux and Martina Navratilova, who received an award for campaigning on the issue.

The former tennis star said: "I've been an animal lover all my life and I don't think people know about the stuff that goes on."